The Best Banana Bread Recipe | Moist Banana Bread Loaf Cake (2024)

Bake the best banana bread recipe at home for a quick morning breakfast, mid-day snack, or after-meal dessert. This banana bread is easy to make, one of the quick, soft, and super moist sweet breads even beginners can try.

What is banana bread?

Banana bread is a soft and moist, quick, sweet cake-like bread loaf made using mashed ripe bananas. In America, these are served for a quick morning breakfast on the go, a mid-day snack, or as a delicious dessert with glaze or icing.

Banana nut bread

I love adding nuts to my banana bread; it adds crunchiness to every single bite, especially a combination of cashews, almonds, and raisins. Just toast it or roast it in butter and add it to the recipe. You can even add walnuts or pecans. But if you are serving it to a crowd who likes the classic old-fashioned plain sweet bread, then skip adding nuts.

Banana bread with banana on top

I make this version especially during Thanksgiving and Christmas morning breakfast, as it makes your bread look prettier. This version has a less shelf life at room temperature compared to the bread without topping.

Ingredients

Butter: Makes your bread moist and rich.
Sugar: I have used granulated sugar. Feel free to use brown sugar.
Eggs: Makes your bread super moist.
Baking powder and baking soda: Help bread rise and become fluffy.
Cinnamon powder, Vanilla extract, Salt: Enhance the flavor.
Flour: Regular plain all-purpose flour that holds everything together. Gluten-free flour or wheat flour can be used, but note that the texture of the bread will vary accordingly.
Bananas: Overripe to ripe bananas are preferred as they are sweet and can be mashed easily.

See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

How to make the classic banana bread at home?

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 * 5-inch bread loaf pan, line it with parchment paper, and keep it aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, cream the butter and sugar. Add the egg and whisk it.(Feel free to make this with a simple whisk or hand-held mixer.)
• In a bowl, mash the bananas and keep them aside.
• Add the baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon powder, salt, vanilla extract, milk and mix.
• Now add the mashed bananas and all-purpose flour and mix until everything comes together. Do not over-mix.
• Transfer the batter to a greased loaf pan.
• If using a fresh banana for topping, cut it into halves and lengthwise. Place it on top of the batter. Do not push.
• Bake it for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until done, i.e., when a toothpick inserted at the center of the loaf comes out clean.
• Let it cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan.
• Banana Bread is now ready. Serve and enjoy.

Tips

• You can place an aluminum foil at the 50-minute mark to prevent the top from developing a dark color.
• Overripe bananas are the best.
• You can add roasted nuts along with mashed banana to the batter to make banana nut bread.
• For the best taste, bake it at night and serve it the next morning. The flavors meld very well.
• This bread is made using four long banans. The more the mashed bananas, the better the flavor and moisture for your final baked bread loaf.

How to store banana bread?

• You can store the leftover banana bread in an airtight conatiner at room temperature for three days. In refrigerator for seven days and in freezer for up to 3 months.
• I would say wrap the whole bread. Slice only when you are ready to serve to avoid it from drying out.

Recipe FAQS

More recipes with ripe bananas

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Recipe card

Note: We originally posted this vegan best pumpkin bread recipe in Oct 2015. It has now been modified in Sep 2023 with Expert Chef Tips, FAQs, Storage Instructions, etc.

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